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To support individual learning styles with the notion of “whole-brained” methodology, irock2read promotes the use of music as a device to combine right hemispheric creativity (poetry, art, music) with left hemispheric academic tasks (reading, writing, and spelling). To stress rhyming, blending, segmenting, and manipulating isolated sounds, varied combinations of rhythm and percussion are combined with instructional activities that stress crucial connections with graphemes (printed letter symbols), phonemes (letter sounds), and morphemes (smallest unit of meaning in language). Students learn to associate printed letter symbols (visual) with its respective sound (auditory) and produce its correct letterform as he/she writes or traces (kinesthetic). Simultaneously, students trace, copy, and name letters, and associate correct speech sound(s) with its respective letterform(s).

Brain hemispheric research conclusions

Conclusions determined from brain hemispheric research and reading

Once students learn to properly associate multiple spelling and sound patterns, they are encouraged to practice words, both in isolation and in decodable sentences and books. This allows the necessary practice to apply newly acquired decoding skills with connected text that presents words according to sound patterns. To enhance understanding and enjoyment of reading text, guided oral reading is encouraged to stress fluency, accuracy, speed, and oral expression. Accuracy and fluency is essential for students to comprehend the meaning of text during shared, guided, and independent reading experiences. With balanced literacy instruction, these activities are key ingredients for effective decoding and spelling instruction and have a strong and direct relationship to reading acquisition.